Christmas Commercialized

Charitable handouts became commonplace during the Christmas season, ranging from charitable trusts dispensing coal to poor widows to village squires making gifts of money and food. Christmas soon became, in theory, the opportunity for all classes to meet in social harmony. Allowing the divisions between the rich and the poor to become deliberately blurred at this time of year salved many consciences.

A number of festive traditions were either revived or created. For example, the first Christmas cards appeared in 1843, and as printing became cheaper, the market prospered. Christmas trees, a much older tradition, also greatly increased in popularity after Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, introduced the German manner of decoration, employing tinsel, ornaments, and candles.

The commercial promotion of Christmas was gaining momentum. Today, a little over a century later, Christmas has become so commercialized that there is public outcry over it.

What About Christmas Customs?

Dickens is said to have “enjoyed all the attendant paraphernalia of Christmas.” But from where did the paraphernalia come?

Providing interesting insights into this matter, New York Newsday of December 22, 1992, quoted John Mosley, who wrote the book The Christmas Star: “‘The early church leaders didn’t celebrate Christmas in December specifically to celebrate the birth of Christ,’ [Mosley] said. ‘It was their way of dealing with the winter solstice,’ the turning point of winter, when the sun stops its drift to the south and heads north again, bringing new light.

“Evidence for this is seen in the symbols of Christmas, Mosley said. Most obvious is the use of green plants, which symbolize life in a time of darkness and cold. ‘The most obvious green plant is the Christmas tree,’ he said. ‘And the northern Europeans celebrated the solstice in the forest; they worshiped trees. So the Christmas tree is really a throwback to tree worship in prehistoric times.’

“Also, Mosley said, ‘What do you put on the trees? Lights. Light recalls the Sun and symbolizes the Sun. It’s for the rebirth of the Sun and the return of light after the solstice. The main things involved in solstice celebrations everywhere are light and green plants.

“Dec. 25, he added, ‘was also the original date of the winter solstice, and many of the things we do now, and which we think are relatively modern Christmas customs, really trace their origins to the solstice celebrations.”

Music also characterizes Christmas celebrations. Thus, it is not surprising that the Roman festival of Saturnalia was renowned for its feasting and merrymaking, including dancing and singing. That the modern Christmas owes much to the ancient Saturnalia, scholars no longer dispute.

Deep Misgivings

England’s Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. George Carey, complained about the “Victorian, Charles Dickens Christmas.” The reason? “I am concerned in case our children are affected by the commercialism,” he said.

According to the newspaper The Scotsman, Anglican bishop David Jenkins believes that Christmas commercialism is driving people to the point of nervous breakdown. “We worship greed and Christmas becomes the feast of greed and folly,” he said, adding: “Ordinary persons are made miserable by their credit card debts. . . . There is increasing evidence that after Christmas people get into despair and have family rows. It is increasingly causing more trouble than it is worth.”

The Church Times of England aptly summed up the problem of Christmas: “We need to be liberated from the great bacchanalian orgy we have allowed it to become!”